A Two-Decade Reflection on Happiness and the Age Positivity Effect

As I reflect on my own life journey, I realize that my pursuit of happiness is still evolving. Initially, my goals were about me, as I focused on personal achievements like earning a degree, finding love, and competing professionally. Later my goals began to include others, like achieving financial independence for my family, and creating a business. Now my focus is just as much on me as on others, like supporting my wife’s mission to help our local school, growing the HIT family’s wealth, and helping my kids learn.

This happiness journey I just described is specific to me, but the trend of my happiness increasing over time is not unique. There are over 100 studies on age related happiness and the consensus is clear; the older we get the happier we become. This behavioral phenomenon is called the Age Positivity Effect and is corroborated by findings across five key areas of study:

Attention: Research indicates that older adults allocate more time focusing on positive aspects of life. Studies, including eye-tracking experiments, reveal that as adults age, they spend more time processing positive stimuli than negative ones. For instance, they linger longer on the smile of a person than on someone else with a frown.
Memory: As memory naturally fades with age, so do negative thoughts. Over time, older adults tend to recall more positive information and less negative information.
Emotional Processing: Through accumulated life experiences, older individuals become adept at discerning and insulating themselves from negative interactions. This acquired skill, developed through navigating challenges like bullying and political strife, contributes to a more resilient emotional state.
Being Present: Aging is associated with a shorter time horizon, leading individuals to prioritize activities with immediate positive outcomes. This focus on the present, supported by studies, is linked to higher levels of happiness.
Greater Life Experience: With age comes a wealth of experiences, both positive and negative, that shape a positive outlook and an appreciation for the value of positive emotions.

Actionable Learnings

How does this information change the way I am understanding the world around me? Well, what I once perceived as elderly stubbornness, I now can view as deliberate actions focused on maximizing happiness in the moment. The idea of sacrificing today for a better tomorrow, such as saving to gain financial independence becomes less important when one statistically has fewer tomorrows. We can all prioritize being present and enjoying the time we have together today.

Furthermore, it’s important for younger generations to assist older generations in avoiding scams, deceptive sales tactics, and outright fraud. Because we are more cynical than the generation before us we have a higher likelihood of spotting the deception.

For example a couple months ago I received an email from Harbor Freight telling me to click the link and claim my free gift. I didn’t know why I was receiving a tool set, but who cares, I love tools. As I clicked through the link I soon realized it wasn’t from my local store; it was a scam. If I had only taken a moment to tell my parents what happened, my dad would never have fallen for the same scam.

Age Positivity Effect

In the end, assuming you don’t have a tool set on the way, Age Positivity is a nice behavioral effect to experience. Enjoy today, and tomorrow will be even better.